“Timid” Charles, the New Cassowary

Stella, the nine-year-old female helmeted cassowary, recently received a new male companion of similar age from the Montpellier Zoo in France. The new male cassowary was originally born in the Łódź Zoo in Poland: he hatched on December 14, 2016. He was not yet two years old when he was moved to Montpellier, and from there he arrived here in May this year.

Since then, the keepers have begun helping him get used to his new home and started the first steps of familiarizing him with his future mate. The cassowary first took possession of the indoor area at the Hill House, and on Pentecost the keepers allowed him out onto the enclosure, so visitors have been able to see him since then.

Although the new male cassowary is about the same age as Stella, the female, he is noticeably smaller. This is not surprising, as females of the species are generally larger. It is also true that we have seen male cassowaries bigger than this new one. The new resident is curious but somewhat timid, which led the keepers to nickname him Charles II (“Timid”), as if he were a ruler. In Montpellier, his name was Cheum, but since that French slang word has a negative meaning, the staff preferred not to use it. A previous male cassowary named Köpsi was affectionately called Karcsi, Károly, or even Uncle Charles by the keepers, so following tradition, the new male was also named Charles—making him the second of that name here.

The helmeted cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is native to northeastern Australia, the York Peninsula, New Guinea, and some smaller islands. It lives in dense tropical forests. As a large flightless bird, it cannot fly but can run quickly with its powerful legs, even through thick undergrowth. It is named after its distinctive keratin casque. Its inner toe on each foot bears a large claw, which the bird uses to defend itself or fight rivals with strong kicks if necessary.

Among the flightless birds, there are three known species of cassowaries: the northern or orange-necked cassowary, Bennett’s cassowary, and the helmeted cassowary, which can also be seen at our Zoo. Our institution has a tradition of keeping this species for more than a century, although in the past, besides the helmeted cassowaries, we also kept orange-necked cassowaries during certain periods.